Greece began talks with international bankers Thursday over a proposed bond swap program amid widespread uncertainty about the details of the plan and one day after the country was hit by a fresh downgrade in its sovereign credit ratings.
The technical level talks include officials from Greece’s finance ministry, the government’s private advisers, and leading banks with major holdings of Greek government bonds.
The talks will focus on a proposal made last week by the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a trade body of the world’s largest banks, to exchange some EUR135 billion in Greek government bonds maturing between now and 2020 into new 15- and 30-year debt.
Although the broad outlines of the program are clear, analysts say there are a host of unresolved issues to be ironed out–such as the exact timing of the program, which bonds will be included, how banking regulators will assess markdowns on those bonds, and the role of Europe’s temporary crisis fund in helping to support the plan.
(source: Dow Jones)
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